"" - Human speech
'' - Pokémon speech (humans cannot understand it)
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon and am not in any way affiliated with it.
Hey guys, thanks for all your reviews and follows! I hope I can reach 50 followers by the end of next week :D. Thanks once again for all your support, and don't forget to share your comments down below!
Sorry this is a day early again, I have a piano exam tomorrow, and it will take up the whole day. Wish me luck! (I'll certainly need it D:)
Also, in case any of you were wondering, Ash and Serena's teams are probably going to be different, which is why Serena has a Fennekin, not a Braixen.
Finally, I made this a bit more realistic, so it may seem a bit… different from what you're used to in the anime. Leave what you think down below :).
Now, enough with all the talking. On with the story!
Enjoy!
Ash darted a look towards Serena, fear written clearly on his face. However Serena was the epitome of calm; steady, pokéball in her hand, and Fennekin in front of her, growling at the menacing stranger.
Ash was a bit taken aback, and attempted to calm his nerves down. He was already scolding himself immensely from within about having been careless enough to leave his Pokémon in the other room. But he didn't want to leave Serena alone with this thug.
As Ash contemplated what to do, the grunt began advancing towards the two children, and now Serena's eyes finally widened in fear.
Knowing Ash was their only chance, she yelled, "Go! Get your pokéballs! I'll hold him off in the meantime."
And just like that, he was off. Within seconds Ash was back, Pikachu on his shoulder, electricity sparking from his pouches. Rowlet was already out, and he began soaring up into the air towards the stranger.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, and as for you Rowlet, let's try out Leafage!" Ash directed.
Pikachu leaped at the man, shocking him with a jolt of electricity, making the thug scream out in pain. A half a second later Rowlet's Leafage hit him again, cutting his face all over. Desperately he pulled out a pokéball, revealing a Yungoos.
Furious now, and having shaken off the effects of Pikachu's attack, he was determined to get back at them.
Rubbing the nicks on his face, he growled, "Bite."
But at the same time, Serena had pulled out her Popplio, turning the odds even more against the stranger's favor.
"Four against one, huh? Looks like you can't even do an honest one-on-one battle."
"Let's see what you can do," Serena said, ignoring the comment. "Water gun!"
The Water gun, mixed with Fennekin's instinctive Flamethrower, created a spectacular jet of destruction, slamming into the grunt and sending him flying out into the hallway.
Ash and Serena turned to congratulate each other, but unfortunately for them, unnoticed in the heat of the battle, two other grunts had climbed in through the inn window, and now slammed wooden clubs above Ash and Serena's heads, knocking them out cold.
"Good. Now bring them to the campsite," Said a man, standing in the frame of the doorway.
The thug Ash and Serena had defeated had miraculously managed to get up, and now an evil grin was spreading across his face. The two had hurt him badly, and he was going to make them pay for it.
Sun filtered through the thick bushes crowding the area, and onto Ash's body. He rolled over in an attempt to get away, but something prevented him from doing so.
Muttering in his sleep, the blankets beneath him began to fill with heat, before blazing with an intensity like he had never seen before.
Yelping, Ash, jumped up, wide awake, only to find himself crashing back down again. He shook his arms and legs frantically, but they were chained to four posts on the corners of his sleeping bag.
However, the sound Ash had made awoke Serena, and she now sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"By the amount of noise you make, I would think a whole army was coming crashing through here," Serena said, eyeing Ash scornfully.
Then she saw the chains, and rushed forward to free her friend. Unfortunately, her feet too were chained, and before she knew it, she came crashing down on top of Ash, her hands splayed out in front of her like a bug.
"Well, this is awkward," Serena said, attempting to joke off the matter.
Ash grinned.
"Yes, it certainly is. And I wouldn't mind if I could get up. People are a bit heavier than Pokémon." He said easily.
Serena's eyes widened.
"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't-"
She was interrupted by Ash's soothing reply.
"Don't worry about it. I would help you, but as you can likely see, I'm kind of stuck here," He chuckled.
After some squirming and struggling, Serena finally managed to right herself, and now began smoothing out her dress.
Forgetting all about the previous moment, she began tutting as she noticed all the wrinkles in her dress. Immersed in her thoughts, Serena looked up, surprised, at the sound of someone clearing their throat.
She noticed Ash staring, and blushed, looking down, embarrassed at her lack of priorities.
Ash decided not to comment on the fact, and instead said, "It looks like our gracious hosts are here."
Serena looked up and glared at the man towering over her in her sitting position. It was the same thug they had battled earlier, and her brows furrowed at the memory. She then realized she didn't know how long it had been since they'd been kidnapped.
Distracted, she vaguely heard Ash's reply to a remark the man had said.
Shaking her head, her senses heightened and she caught on to the last few words.
"...Let her go!" Ash growled.
The man shook his head and laughed a deep, guttural laugh.
"You see sonny, I just can't do that for two reasons. One, she may be important in the near future, especially since you seem to care so deeply about her, and two, she knows too much about us already."
In fact, Serena had begun darting her head back and forth, taking in her surroundings, and trying to figure out their location. The action was stopped by a backhand blow to her head, and she staggered forward.
Ash started forward angrily.
"You can't hurt her!" He yelled.
"And what makes you think that?" The grunt said.
Serena had managed to catch sight of a clear area surrounded by thick brambles and bushes, with trees reaching up to the sky all around them. Pitched in the center around a dead campfire were three tents, and a woman had emerged out of the one on the left just as she was hit, wearing the exact same clothing as the man who had kidnapped them.
"Then let me battle you," Ash responded. "If I win, you let us and our Pokémon go. If I lose, you can do whatever you would like."
The grunt stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure about letting you go. You're too valuable a hostage. Don't know why the boss wants a kid like you, but he's not someone to mess with."
He paused uncertainly. Feeling as if he had revealed too much information, he continued on, trying to cover up his mistake.
"But the girl," He jerked a thumb at Serena. "She can go."
"And her Pokémon?" Ash questioned.
"Oh, sure. They're useless anyways."
Serena's eyebrows furrowed in anger, but she remained quiet, realizing that was her best option at the moment. She trusted in Ash's ability to get them out of this situation.
"Fine. Keep me. As long as she's safe. So how about that battle?"
The man smiled, much like the Cheshire Cat.
"Oh, you'll get your battle all right," He said delightedly. "And you're going to regret you ever asked for it."
An area had been set aside in the forest for the battle that was to take place. A large rectangle sat in the center marked by tall grass, with two smaller areas on each side for the trainers to stand.
In the center was a crudely painted Pokéball symbol, a line running through it to divide the field in half.
Now, with the sun high overhead, the two trainers stepped out onto the battlefield, pokéballs in hand.
Ash had been relieved of his chains almost half an hour ago so he could stretch and prepare. However he was closely watched, in case he made any sign to escape.
But Ash knew he could never leave without Serena.
Now, Serena watched nervously from the sides as the battle began. She was confident in Ash's ability, but he had only two Pokémon, and Rowlet was still level one. Her throat constricted in fear, and all of a sudden she felt the desperate need for water.
"I trust you'll keep up with your end of the bargain," Ash yelled across the field.
Even from this distance, he could see the sneer on the man's face.
"Of course," He said, holding a hand to his belly.
The grunt was slightly overweight, and almost as short as Ash and Serena. His Pokémon had no respect for him, and even hesitated before each attack issued to them. On the other hand, Ash was lean and fit. His Pokémon loved him, and in return he was confident in his Pokémon's abilities.
Ash was too busy choosing which Pokémon to use first to respond. He wanted Rowlet to get plenty of experience from this battle, but didn't want it to get hurt either.
After much contemplation, he decided he'd use Rowlet, then quickly switch out to Pikachu.
"Are you ready?" The grunt called.
Ash responded by releasing Rowlet onto the battlefield.
"Yungoos, go!" He head the man yell.
Ash nodded. He'd expected as such.
"Rowlet, use Leafage, then follow up with Tackle. Before they can hit you, switch out with Pikachu." He said to his Pokémon.
Rowlet nodded its head in acknowledgement, then turned back to face its opponent.
Rowlet ran towards Yungoos, and shot a barrel of razor-sharp leaves at it. Then, still following through with its momentum, Rowlet rammed headfirst into Yungoos, sending it sprawling. Before it had time to recover, Rowlet was soaring across the field, Pikachu already taking its place.
Ash, sensing Yungoos was weak from Rowlet's attack, knew it was vital to save Pikachu's strength, so decided to use Pikachu's trademark move, which was effective, but also not as strong.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
A strong jolt of electricity flew towards Yungoos, lighting up the gradually darkening air. Yungoos, just beginning to stand up, crumpled back down to the ground from the shock.
The judge, another one of the grunts, hoped desperately that Yungoos would stand back up again. He waited a few moments, then grudgingly raised the flag on his left, signalling Ash was the victor of that round.
Ash was tempted to run onto the field to congratulate Pikachu, but merely grinned, all the while calculating moves and distances in his head.
"Alright, Pikachu. You did great. Now let's give Rowlet some time on the field," He said.
Pikachu stepped back, and Rowlet hopped onto the field, energized at the fact that it would be battling once again.
In return, the man released another Yungoos.
"Use bite!" He snarled.
"Rowlet, dodge it, and while it's unbalanced, tackle it back down to the ground. Then hit it with Leafage again, and have Pikachu take over," Ash strategized.
Rowlet only knew two moves, so he decided to hit the opponent with them quickly, then retreat to let Pikachu handle the rest.
As Yungoos ran forward with its teeth bared, Rowlet tensed up on the balls of its feet. It leapt to the side just in time as Yungoos snapped down onto where Rowlet's wing had been only moments before.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, as Yungoos tipped forward, off-balance, like Ash knew it would, Rowlet slammed into it again, the close distance defeating the poor Pokémon. To be safe, Rowlet sent another barrage of leaves after it, and Ash felt almost sorry for Yungoos.
Surprised, Ash realized he hadn't needed his Pikachu for this round. Rowlet was strong enough to handle the job. At that thought, he smiled to himself.
"I'll show you! My next pokémon won't be as easy to beat," The grunt yelled.
Ash smirked, his confidence growing.
"We'll see," He replied.
For the last round, surprise, surprise, the man pulled out yet another Yungoos. Yet somehow, Ash knew this one would be tougher than its fellow pokémon.
"Okay, Pikachu. You're up. This one could be dangerous, so stay on your guard." He lectured.
Pikachu nodded understandingly.
"Start forward with Quick Attack like we practiced, then hit it with Iron Tail," He said. "But it won't be over yet. It might try and fake it, but go ahead with Electroball."
'Pikachu!' It said, its pouches already sparking with electricity.
Then Pikachu dashed forward at startling speed, his motions blurring together so Yungoos could never see where Pikachu was. Then, out of nowhere, Pikachu leapt out towards Yungoos and slammed its tail, now encased in iron, onto Yungoos' head. The effect was instantaneous.
It lay there for a moment, and for a second Ash thought it had fainted, and the battle was over. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yungoos move slightly.
"Electroball!" He shouted to Pikachu.
A small yellow ball began to form, slowly at first, then it grew rapidly as tendrils of electricity danced to and from the center, highlighting Pikachu's face in a black light, as if it had risen from the Underworld.
With a massive effort, Pikachu hurled the newly formed ball straight at Yungoos. Ash saw the Pokémon's eyes widen, before it was hit head-on by the pulsing mass of energy.
The Yungoos had fainted before it hit the ground.